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/ 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary 



United States Geological Survey 

George Otis Smith, Director 




Water-Supply Paper 425— D 



GROUND WATER IN REESE RIVER BASIN AND 

ADJACENT PARTS OF HUMBOLDT 

RIVER BASIN, NEVADA 



BY 



GERALD A. WARING 



Contributions to the hydrology of the United States 1917 
(Pages 95-129) 

Published December 26, 1918 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1918 



0, Qt J« 

iA« 21 1919 






CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Introduction 95 

Ground water for irrigation in Nevada 95 

Investigation of ground water in Reese River basin 95 

Geography of the area 96 

Physiography 97 

Mountains 97 

Alluvialfans 98 

Bluffs 98 

Playas 98 

Geology 99 

Geologic sketch 99 

Paleozoic sedimentary rocks 100 

Mesozoic sedimentary rocks 100 

Pre-Tertiary crystalline rocks 100 

Tertiary lake beds 101 

Tertiary lavas 101 

Quaternary deposits 102 

Precipitation 102 

Surface water 104 

Source and discharge of ground water 110 

Water table Ill 

Quantity of ground water 112 

Artesian conditions 112 

Quality of ground water 114 

General character 114 

Water from dug wells 115 

Water from springs 116 

Water from drilled wells '. 117 

Snmmary of quality of water 118 

Water supplies 118 

Domestic supplies 118 

Public supply 118 

Stock supplies 118 

Industrial supplies 119 

Irrigation from wells 119 

Developments 119 

Well construction 119 

Recovery of water 120 

Areas 121 

Crops and markets 122 

Wells and springs 122 

in 



ILLUSTKATIONS. 



Plate VII. Map of Nevada showing areas covered by papers of the United 

States Geological Survey relating to ground-water 96 

VIII. Reconnaissance map of Reese River basin and adjacent parts of 
Humboldt River basin, Nev., showing geology and water re- 
sources In pocket. 

IX. A, View looking westward across Reese River valley, Nev., from 
slopes back of Austin; B, Low bluffs along Reese River valley, 

Nev., near mouth of Boone Creek 100 

X. A, Alluvial slopes near mouth of Big Creek, Nev., looking south- 
eastward; B, Indian Valley, Nev., looking northward from its 

head .' 102 

XI. A, Valley of Boone Creek, Nev., looking downstream from Mrs. 
Litster's ranch; B, Spring 1J miles southwest of Antelope 

Spring, in Antelope Valley, Nev 104 

XII. A, Head of Reese River canyon, Nev., showing Tertiary lake beds 
on each side; B, Reese River valley, Nev., looking downstream 

from James Litster's ranch 106 

Figure 4. Diagram showing annual precipitation at Austin and Battle Moun- 
tain, Nev 102 

IV 



GROUND WATER IN REESE RIVER BASIN AND ADJACENT 
PARTS OF HUMBOLDT RIVER BASIN, NEVADA. 



By Gerald A. Waring. 



INTRODUCTION. 

GROUND WATER FOR IRRIGATION IN NEVADA. 

One of the remarkable achievements in the winning of the West 
has been the development of great areas of tillable land into a multi- 
tude of farms within the last half century. In the last decade, how- 
ever, Government land that is suitable for farming and open to entry 
has become scarce because of the rapid homesteading in the desir- 
able areas. The realization by prospective homesteaders that lands 
suitable for farming are becoming scarce has apparently served as a 
stimulus to settlement, and many entries have been made on lands 
that are unsuitable for farming. 

In Nevada the mountains lie in approximately parallel ranges 
that trend in general nearly north, and the valleys between them 
are deeply underlain by gravel, sand, and clay, brought down by 
flood water from the bordering mountain slopes. This unconsoli- 
dated valley fill serves as a great reservoir in which much of the 
water that falls as rain or snow becomes stored as ground water, 
and in some valleys in Nevada this water is available for irrigation 
by means of wells and pumping plants. 

At some places, however, the ground water is too alkaline for 
successful use in irrigation, or it lies at a depth so great that the cost 
of pumping would be excessive, or it can not be developed in amount 
sufficient to make its use economically successful. It is therefore 
important that the ground-water conditions be carefully studied 
before agricultural settlement is attempted. 

INVESTIGATION OF GROUND WATER IN REESE RIVER BASIN. 

As a continuation of the United States Geological Survey's studies 
of ground water in Nevada the writer was assigned to make an 
examination of the drainage basin of Reese River and adjacent parts 
of the basin of Humboldt River, in the central part of the State 
(see PI. VII), and spent the month of September, 1916, in this study, 
in company with Ernest L. Neill, of Stanford University. Acknowl- 
edgment is due to Mr. Neill for able assistance rendered and to many 
ranchmen for hospitality and for information furnished. 

95 



96 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1911. 
GEOGRAPHY OP THE AREA. 

Reese River flows in a nearly direct course a little east of north 
from its headwaters in the Toyabe Range to its junction with Hum- 
boldt River. It is about 150 miles long, and its drainage basin is 12 
to 30 miles wide. The valley occupies, at most places along its 
course, hardly one-third of the width of the drainage basin, and in 
ts middle part it is constricted to form the Reese River canyon. 
i(See PI. VIII, in pocket.) Antelope Valley and Buffalo Valley are 
connected with the valley of Reese River by broad lowlands. In 
each of these tributary valleys the storm waters gather in a playa 
which is dry most of the year but in wet seasons forms a lake or 
expanse of alkali-incrusted mud. These playas rarely overflow to 
Reese River. 

From an elevation of about 7,400 feet in Indian Valley, at the south 
end of the basin, the valley descends at a fairly uniform grade north- 
ward along Reese River to an elevation of only 4,500 feet at the junc- 
tion of Reese River with the Humboldt. The principal peaks in the 
mountains that border the northern and central parts of the basin 
are 7,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level. To the south the crest of the 
Toyabe Range is for the most part more than 10,000 feet above the 
sea, and Arc Dome, the culminating point of the range and of the rim 
of the drainage basin, has an elevation of 11,775 feet. 

The climate of the area is arid. The average annual precipita- 
tion at Battle Mountain is about 7 inches; at Austin it is about 12J 
inches, and in the higher mountains it may reach 20 inches. About 
half the precipitation falls in December to March, inclusive. July is 
usually the driest month of the year. In the mountains the precipi- 
tation is mainly in the form of snow; in the valleys the irregular 
summer rains usually come as thunderstorms. 

Because of the dryness of the air and the relatively great elevation 
of the region above sea level, the daily range in temperature is great. 
It is said that in the southern part of the Reese River valley frosts 
may occur in any month of the year. The mean annual tempera- 
ture is about 50° F. 

The area is sparsely populated. In 1910, according to the census, 
Austin had a population of 700 and Battle Mountain 475. These are 
the only two towns in the area examined. 

Austin (see PI. IX, A) was formerly an important mining town, 
and soon after silver was discovered there, in May, 1862, it contained 
several thousand people. Of late years, since the principal mines 
were closed, it has served chiefly as a supply point for prospectors 
and ranchers and, as it is on the Lincoln Highway, for automobilists. 
It is connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Battle Moun- 
tain by the Nevada Central Railroad, a narrow-gage line 103 miles 
long. 



U & GEOLOGICAL SURVtY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 425 PLATE VII 



Area described in 
Water- Supply Paper 423 



Approximate position of the. 
boundary of the GreatBasin 




MAP OF NEVADA SHOWING AREAS COVERED BY THE PRESENT AND OTHER 
WATER-SUPPLY PAPERS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

1918 

25 O 25 51 > 75 10O Miles 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 97 

Battle Mountain is a shipping point for live stock and a supply and 
shipping point for mining interests. In 1916 there were small set- 
tlements at the mining camps of Galena and Copper Canyon, to the 
southwest, and at Lewis, Dean, Maysville, and Hilltop, to the south- 
east. The remainder of the inhabitants of this area live chiefly on 
the scattered ranches in the valley. These ranches are devoted to 
the raising of live stock, principally cattle. Native hay is exten- 
sively grown for winter feeding, and alfalfa also is raised on several 

ranches. 

PHYSIOGRAPHY. 

MOUNTAINS. 

The southern part of the Reese River valley is bordered on the 
east by the Toyabe Range and on the west by the Shoshone Range. 
The river crosses to the west side of the Shoshone Range through 
Reese River canyon and thence flows northward. North of the 
canyon the east side of the river basin is formed by the Shoshone 
Range and the west side of the basin is bordered by parts of several 
ranges — the Desatoya Mountains at the south end of Antelope Valley, 
the Augusta Mountains on its west side, the Fish Creek Mountains 
along its north end, and the Havallah Range along the west side of 
Buffalo Valley. Battle Mountain forms a detached mass at the 
north end of Buffalo Valley. 

The Toyabe Range is the highest of these ranges, containing peaks 
that rise more than 4,000 feet above the valley. The range as a whole 
is narrow and has a short, steep eastern front and longer, less pre- 
cipitous western slopes. This form seems to have been produced by 
faulting and uplift along the east side of the range. Although this 
range is narrow and its slopes are in general steep, prolonged erosion 
prior to the uplift that gave it its present form produced undulating 
valleys and smoothed and rounded the summits in its higher parts. 1 
These upland valleys form small areas of grazing land, where the 
grass keeps green well into the summer. Indian Valley (see PI. X, 
B) probably acquired approximately its present form during this 
early erosional period. The most prominent rounded summit of the 
range is Mount Callahan, or "The Dome." From Reese River valley 
the Toyabe Range rises in a long, gentle slope that extends to its 
very top, but on its east side the slope is precipitous. 

The Shoshone Range (called the Reese River Range by Spurr 2 ) 
seems to be essentially anticlinal in structure, though its steepest 
fronts, notably those near Smith Canyon, have probably been pro- 
duced by faulting. The hot springs in the lowlands a few miles south- 

1 Meinzer, O. E., Geology and water resources of Big Smoky, Clayton, and Alkali Spring valleys, Nev.: 
V. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 423, pp. 18-22, 1917. 

2 Spun - , J. E., Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of Cali- 
fornia: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 208, p. 97, 1903. 



98 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

west of this canyon are presumably supplied by deep-seated water 
that rises along fault lines. The range seems to have been uplifted 
since the Reese River drainage system was established, and the 
stream has apparently maintained its course by cutting down through 
the rocks as fast as they were uplifted, in a way similar to that in 
which Yakima River in central Washington * and other rivers have 
cut gorges across lava ridges. Throughout the canyon the alluvium 
is several feet deep. Cutting apparently has ceased, and some filling 
of the canyon has taken place. Similar filling is well shown by Boone 
Creek. (See PL XI, A.) 

The mountains and ranges along the west side of the northern half 
of the Reese River basin seem to be in general anticlinal in structure, 
though detailed study would probably show considerable faulting. 
Battle Mountain forms a detached mass whose sedimentary strata 
dip in the main westward, and early studies indicated that this mass 
may be an extension of the anticline of the Shoshone Range. 2 

ALLUVIAL FANS. 

Extensive alluvial fans have been built out from the mouths of 
the numerous canyons on each side of the valley, and the larger 
of these fans continue, well defined but with gentler slopes, down 
to the lowlands along the river. The alluvial fan near the mouth 
of Big Creek (see PL X, A) is especially prominent, though it has 
been deeply dissected by the creek. 

BLUFFS. 

Unconsolidated sedimentary beds are exposed for considerable 
distances along the borders of the lower lands, and in several places 
they form prominent bluffs. The bluffs along the valley near 
Boone Creek (see PL IX, B) are carved in such materials. There 
are similar bluffs on the west side of the valley, opposite Austin, and 
also 40 miles farther south, on the east side of the valley, near the 
Schmaling ranch. 

PLAYAS. 

The principal playas ("dry lakes" or alkali flats) in the drainage 
basin of Reese River are in Antelope and Buffalo valleys. The 
one in Antelope Valley has an area of only about 1 square mile, 
and it has an overflow channel that runs northward and eastward 
to Reese River. The one in Buffalo Valley is nearly 5 miles long 
from northeast to southwest and about 2 miles wide. During 
exceptionally wet seasons it may discharge northeastward to Reese 
River, but no outlet channel was noticed. 

» Smith, G. O., U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas, EllensTDurg folio (No. 86), p. 5, 1903. 

a Hague, Arnold, and Emmons, S. F., U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 2, p. 667. 1877. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 99 

Along the lower course of Reese River there are extensive areas 
of poorly drained alkali land from which the spring flood water 
evidently runs off very slowly, but no depressions were observed 
where intermittent lakes may form. 

GEOLOGY. 

GEOLOGIC SKETCH. 

The geologic history of the Reese River region is believed to be 
ih brief as follows : 1 

During Paleozoic and Mesozoic time the greater part of the region 
was submerged, and extensive deposits of limestone, sandstone, and 
shale were formed. The Reese River basin is geographically in a 
transition zone between the higher plateau lands of eastern Nevada 
and the lower lands farther west. Geologically, also, the basin is 
in a transition zone, for all the ancient sedimentary rocks along 
its east side are of Paleozoic age, whereas those on the west are of 
Mesozoic age. 2 

The evidence indicates that during the Paleozoic era an extensive 
area east of the Reese River basin was submerged, whereas the 
land for many miles westward stood above sea level. With the 
ending of the Paleozoic and the beginning of the Mesozoic era the 
conditions were reversed, the western region being submerged and 
the eastern region uplifted. Since the Mesozoic era central Nevada 
as a whole has been uplifted several thousand feet above sea level 
by widespread structural movement, and the present mountain ranges 
have been developed by both transverse and longitudinal stresses. 3 

The sedimentary rocks in the ranges bordering the Reese River 
valley have been intruded by granitoid rocks, which constitute the 
cores of the mountains. • 

During the Tertiary period large areas, including perhaps the 
greater part of the basin of Reese River, were occupied by extensive 
fresh-water lakes, in which beds of gravel, sand, and clay were 
deposited, together with layers of volcanic ash. After this lake 
period, probably in the Miocene epoch of the Tertiary, great floods 
of lava were poured out through numerous fissures or other centers 
of extrusion in the mountain ranges and buried deeply a large part 
of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, as well as the 
Tertiary lake deposits. After this period of extrusive activity the 
region was much disturbed by crustal movements, and the principal 
mountain ranges, which were originally in the main anticlinal, 

1 For detailed discussions of the rocks and tho geologic structure, see Hague, Arnold, and Emmons, 
S. F., U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 2, pp. 615-688, 1877. For description of the mining districts 
see Hill, J. M., Some mining districts in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada: U. S. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 594, pp. 64-125, 1915. 

2 King, Clarence, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 1, p. 412, 1878. 
» King, Clarence, U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 3, p. 325, 1870. 

30580°— 18— wsp 425d 2 



100 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

were profoundly faulted and tilted, so that their structure is now 
complex. 

More recently the mountains have been extensively eroded, and 
the rock waste has been deposited in the lower parts of the basin. 
Reese River has cut its canyon across the Shoshone Range since 
the lavas were poured out, presumably in large part during Pliocene 
and Pleistocene time. During the Pleistocene epoch a perennial 
lake is believed to have occupied Buffalo Valley. 1 

PALEOZOIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. 

The Paleozoic sedimentary rocks consist of limestone, slate, and 
quartzite and were probably laid down throughout the Paleozoic 
era. They are exposed over extensive areas in the Toyabe and 
Shoshone ranges and in Battle Mountain (see PL VIII, in pocket) 
but not west of these ranges. The change in conditions of deposi- 
tion (see p. 99) apparently accounts for the absence of Paleozoic 
sediments from the region west of Battle Mountain and the Shoshone 

Range. 

MESOZOIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. 

Limestone, shale, and sandstone that contain Mesozoic fossils 
form the Havallah Range along the west side of Buffalo Valley. 
Small exposures along the flanks of the Fish Creek, Augusta, and 
Desatoya mountains indicate that the Mesozoic rocks also compose 
the mass of these mountains beneath the thick sheets of lava that 
lie at the surface. 

PRE-TERTIARY CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 

Areas of crystalline rocks, chiefly granitoid, are exposed along the 
crest of the Toyabe Range in the vicinity of Austin and near Mount 
Beseler, 40 miles to the south. Granite and diorite form the sum- 
mit of Ravenswood Peak, in the Shoshone Range, and the crest of 
the range for about 10 miles south of this peak is formed of granite 
bordered by a narrow zone of crystalline schist. In the northern 
part of the range Shoshone Peak and adjacent areas are composed of 
granodiorite and other granular rocks. 2 

Along the west side of the basin granitoid rocks make up the 
north end of the Havallah Range; and exposures beyond the Reese 
River basin, along the flanks of the Fish Creek and Augusta moun- 
tains, indicate that the cores of these ranges also are composed of 
granitoid material. Small areas of diorite were mapped by the 
Fortieth Parallel Survey on the east slope of New Pass Mountain 
and in the Havallah Range. 3 

i See IT. 8. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Atlas, map 5, 1876. 

2 Emmons, W. H., A reconnaissance of some mining camps in Elko, Lander, and Eureka counties, Nev.: 
U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 408, pi. 5, 1910. 

3 TJ. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Atlas, map 5, 1876. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL Sl'RVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 425 PLATE IX 




OF AUSTIN. 




2EK. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 425 PLATE IX 




A. VIEW LOOKING WESTWARD ACROSS REESE RIVER VALLEY FROM SLOPES RACK OF AUSTIN. 




BLUFFS ALONG REESE RIVER VALLEY NEAR MOUTH OF BOONE CREEK. 



G HOUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 101 

The ancient crystalline rocks of the Toyabe Range are intrusive 
in the Paleozoic rocks and are regarded by Hill 1 as of late Cretaceous 
or possibly of early Tertiary age. With the exception of the schists 
south of Ravenswood Peak that have been classed as Archean, 2 
the crystalline jocks of the Shoshone and Havallah ranges are prob- 
ably also intrusive in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary 
rocks. 

TERTIARY LAKE BEDS. 

Around the border of Antelope Valley and in the Reese River val- 
ley upstream from the Reese River canyon the Tertiary lake beds 
are exposed at many places beneath the lava (see PL XII, A and B) 
or the overlying alluvium. These beds were early classed as Miocene 
and named the Truckee group. 3 

In Antelope Valley and in the vicinity of Italian and Silver creeks 
and the Reese River canyon the beds are composed chiefly of sand 
and clay but include considerable volcanic ash. Associated with the 
unconsolidated materials west of Austin there are beds of hard 
calcareous sandstone, which were also referred to the Truckee by the 
geologists of the Fortieth Parallel Survey. South of the area ex- 
amined by these geologists there are prominent bluffs of light-colored 
sediments. In the vicinity of Schmaling's ranch (see PL VIII, in 
pocket) and near Warner's ranch there are deposits of coarse gravel 
consisting chiefly of well-rounded fragments of lava. These de- 
posits have been shown on Plate VIII as belonging to the Truckee 
formation, but they may prove on detailed study not to be of this 
formation. 

TERTIARY LAVAS. 

The lavas of the Reese River basin are chiefly rhyolites, but small 
areas of andesites, trachytes, and basalts were mapped by the Fortieth 
Parallel Survey. 4 The basaltic rocks seem to be the most recent in 
age. On the east side of Buffalo Valley there are two well-formed 
volcanic cones built up chiefly of trachyte, but the last material 
ejected from their craters is basaltic. In the Humboldt Basin, 
on the east border of Shoshone Mesa 1 or 2 miles south of the canyon 
of Rock Creek, basalt has been poured out over rhyolite, which is the 
prevailing rock, and the black color of the later flows contrasts with 
the prevailing red and brown tones of the earlier rock. 

i Hill, J. M., Some mining districts in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada: U. S. Geol. Sur- 
vey Bull. 594, p. 99, 1915. S. F. Emmons (U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 3, p. 324, 1870) considered 
these rocks to be intrusive and hence of later age than the Paleozoic sediments; but King (idem, vol. 1, p. 
75, 1878) seems to have believed them to be Archean and hence to underlie the Paleozoic deposits. 

2 Hague, Arnold, and Emmons, S. F., U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 2, p. 636, 1877. 

s King, Clarence, U. S. Expl. 40th Par. Rept., vol. 1, p. 414, 1878. Emmons, S. F., idem, vol. 2, p. 63«, 
1877. 

* U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. Atlas, maps 4 and 5, 1876. 



102 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OP UNITED STATES, 1917. 
QUATERNARY DEPOSITS. 

The lands in the valleys of Reese and Humboldt rivers are under- 
lain by deposits of alluvium which drilled wells have penetrated for 
depths of several hundred feet without reaching solid rock. In 
Buffalo Valley the geologists of the Fortieth Parallel Survey dis- 
tinguished the finer-grained deposits of the playa, which they called 
"Lower Quaternary" from the prevailingly more sandy deposits 
in the rest of the basin, which they called "Upper Quaternary," but 
these deposits are now known to be of approximately the same age. 

Records of drilled wells indicate that throughout the Reese River 
basin the deposits in the lower lands are clayey rather than sandy. 
The extensive alluvial fans and slopes that border the lowlands con- 
tain much gravel and angular fragmental material, but the valley 
fill seems to be in large part fine grained and derived from the lake 
beds composing the Truckee formation. On the west side of the 
valley, opposite Austin, the Lincoln Highway crosses Quaternary 
deposits derived from the Truckee beds. In the fall of 1916 the 
road had become greatly cut up by automobile traffic, which rapidly 
wore deep ruts into the flourlike material. 

PRECIPITATION. 

Records of precipitation have been kept by the United States 
Weather Bureau at Austin (elevation 6,600 feet above sea level) and 
at Battle Mountain (elevation 4,500 feet). Although the records are 
not complete for every year since the beginning of observations, a 



No 

I recordl 



No record 



CO Ot *o — 

<n en o - 

CO CD (71 



OQOOOOOOOO 



INCHES 
I5n 



Precipitation at- Austin, Nev 



ill 




No 
record 



ililiilliiiilmiiii 




o o o o o — 



Precipitation at Battle Mountain, Nev. 
Figure 4.— Diagram showing annual precipitation at Austin and Battle Mountain, Nev. 

sufficient number of records are available to show that the mean 
annual precipitation is about 12| inches at Austin and 7 inches at 
Battle Mountain. The monthly and annual records are given in the 
following tables, and the annual totals are shown graphically in 
figure 4. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 125 PLATE X 



£i(j Creek. 




..■■*?**■' 






A. ALLUVIAL SLOPES NEAR MOUTH OF BIG CREEK, LOOKING SOUTHEASTWARD. 




GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 103 

Precipitation, in inches, at Austin, Nev., 1878-1916. n 
[No records for 1881-1887, 1899, 1909, 1910. J 



a U. S. Weather Bur. Bull. W, section 12, p. 2. 
Precipitation, in inches, at Battle Mountain, Nev., 1870-1916. a 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct, 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1878 


0.51 

2.13 

.34 


1.49 
. 58 

1.25 
.30 


2.08 

.43 

1.08 


1.37 
1.45 
2.92 

.25 


1.56 
.46 
.56 

.25 
1.48 
3.81 
1.90 

.88 

.85 
2.66 
1.76 

.61 
4.18 
1.20 
2.02 

.98 
1.57 
1.21 

.99 
2.50 


1.52 

1.15 

.01 

Tr. 

.05 
2.64 
1.47 


2.44 
.05 
.13 
.79 
.05 
.63 
.05 


.60 

.05 

.03 

1.28 


0.15 
.02 
.11 

.09 


.30 
1.26 

.07 
1.02 
1.27 
Tr. 
.85 
.39 
.40 
.79 
.51 
.48 


.31 
.03 
.23 


1.31 

Tr. 
.11 



1.16 

1.09 

Tr. 

.60 

.50 

.14 

.58 

.38 

.56 

Tr. 

1.84 

.32 

.30 

1.13 


0.85 

Tr. 

.20 

1.00 


0.82 
.85 


0.99 

.85 


0.12 
1.88 


12.77 
9.80 


1879... 


1880 


1SS8 




.60 

.54 
.10 
.23 
.40 
.55 

Tr. 

1.04 
.41 
.55 

1.88 
.86 
.88 

1.26 
.04 

Tr. 






1889 


.60 

3.64 
.45 
. 63 
1.22 
1.39 
1.43 
1.39 
1.30 
1.60 


2.66 

1.10 

4.31 

1.92 

.59 

2.77 

1.00 

.18 

1.20 

1.14 

.09 

.40 

.39 

.13 

.88 

.73 

1.83 

2.62 




1890 


1.82 
1.77 

.56 
1.39 
1.89 
1.29 

.05 
2.11 

.27 


2.98 
2.01 
1.72 
1.72 
1.63 
.49 
1.30 
1 . 79 
1.43 


1.26 
2.31 
1.34 
2.86 
1.82 

.61 
1.41 

.94 
1.16 
2.09 

.15 
1.18 
1.91 
1.98 

.91 
2.56 


.45 
.85 
.IS 
.32 
.33 

Tr. 
.39 
.07 
.30 
.15 
.22 
.34 

Tr. 
3.03 


.61 
-.34 

.24 

.07 



.51 


2.76 

.24 
1.03 
1.79 




14 95 


1891 


21 07 


1892 


10 43 


1893 


11 22 


1894 


14 89 


1895 

1896 


9.22 
8 45 


1897 


12 89 


189S 


13.21 


1900 




1901 


1.24 

.43 

1.80 

1.01 

.70 

.31 

1.74 

1.55 

1.30 

.50 

.95 


4.14 

1.10 

.49 

2.22 


.49 
1.51 
2.40 

.88 
1.51 


13.73 


1902 




1903... 


9 24 


1904 . . . 




1905 




1906 


.97 
.02 


.60 
.91 


.30 
.36 


1.41 
1.00 




1907 








1908 


1.30 
2.70 

.15 


1.55 

1.50 

2.00 

.97 


1.03 
.26 


1.41 
1.12 








1911 


.01 




.05 
.65 

2.70 
.13 
.41 

Tr. 




.48 
.29 

.81 
1.28 


1.60 
.30 
.56 
.02 

3.39 


.12 

.40 


.84 
.60 




1912 




1913 


2.00 




2.86 


1.60 




1914 




.01 

.80 


.21 

1.31 

.50 




1915... 


1.26 
2.63 

omple 


.74 
.96 

te reco 


.94 

1.48 

"ds . . . 


4.54 

.72 


2.21 
.22 






.14 
.01 


12 39 


1916... 


11 99 






Mean of the 15 c 




12.41 

























Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1870 








0.05 

.38 

1.00 

.05 

.21 

.05 

.75 

.30 

.64 

.63 

.59 

.86 

1.27 

1.12 

1.54 

2.20 

1.72 

1.24 

.35 

.45 

.95 

1.60 

2.55 

1.18 

.40 

.30 

.55 

.36 

.26 

.20 

.86 


0.30 

.65 

1.19 

.49 

.40 

.90 

.24 

1.04 

2.17 

.45 

.35 

.55 

1.27 

1.29 

.61 

.24 

.14 

1.50 

.64 

.25 

1.93 

2.35 

.12 

1.25 

.50 

.90 

.35 

2.93 

.50 

.64 




0.77 
.04 

1.00 




.27 


1.24 
.82 


.28 
.83 
.23 

2.18 
.44 
.21 
.50 
.51 
.23 


1.87 

1.82 
.10 

1.15 



1.22 


1.25 






.47 
.50 


.25 


.53 
.20 



Tr. 


.08 
Tr. 



.38 
.12 
.22 



.17 


.30 
.50 
.15 




Tr. 








.02 
.80 
.10 



.90 



.15 


Tr. 
.10 
.33 


.18 



.90 









.81 

.13 





1.31 

.04 



.06 

.60 



.15 

.08 



.16 
1.33 


1.12 



.18 

.65 







.11 

.25 

.10 

.10 





.50 





.68 


0.30 
.41 
.01 
.05 

1.38 
.75 
.53 
.03 
.31 
.15 

.60 

1.08 
.85 

1.94 


1.20 

.18 

1.55 


.10 
.35 
.05 

Tr. 

.18 

1.90 
.10 

Tr. 


0.59 
.26 
.02 
.07 
.65 
2.45 
1.21 
.40 
.23 
.46 
Tr. 
.56 
.15 
.70 


.72 
1.50 
1.10 
.82 



.25 
.68 
.25 


.37 
.85 
.45 
.32 



0.13 
.95 
.83 

1.20 
.15 
.93 
.12 


.85 

2.07 

1.03 
.30 
.42 

1.82 
.91 
.44 

1.50 

1.89 

1.04 
.30 

3.52 
.83 
.10 

1.15 
.92 
.20 
.91 
.27 
.75 

.60 




1871 


0.12 


.10 
.95 

2.57 
.40 

2.20 
.29 
.65 
.08 

1.23 

1.58 
.86 
.70 
.55 

1.30 
.73 

3.12 
.60 

2.55 
.10 
.32 

1.42 
.38 
.95 
.60 
.69 
.47 

Tr. 

Tr. 
.70 


0.22 
.20 

2.10 

1.56 
.25 
.30 
.53 

1.02 
.25 
.90 
.76 
.70 
.70 

2.30 

1.48 
.10 

1.15 
.30 


.50 
.75 
.58 
.10 

1.25 

1.65 
.10 

1.66 
.06 

Tr. 
.20 

3.70 


0.37 
.43 
.19 

1.07 
.60 

1.05 

2.07 
.44 
.16 

.45 

2.10 
.60 

1.04 
.16 
.27 
.30 
.25 

1.16 
.81 
.50 

2.18 
.73 
.28 
.10 
.85 
.54 
.55 

2.23 
.10 



3.87 


1872 


6.49 


1873 


4.31 


1874 


7.42 


1875 


8.66 


1876 


6.00 


1877 


6.77 


1878 


7.39 


1879 


4.50 


1880 




1881 




1882 


9.97 


1883 


6.75 


1884 


14.03 


1885 


7.40 


1886 


7.54 


1887 




1888 


9.79 


1889 


5.67 


1890 

1891 


6.26 
10.79 


1892 


11.77 


1893 


4.60 


1894 


6.46 


1895 


5.04 


1896 


4.23 


1897 


8.08 


1898 


5.46 


1899 


5.74 


1900 




1901 


.25 


.45 


7.37 



a TJ. S. Weather Bur. Bull. W, section 12, pp. 2-3 



104 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 
Precipitation, in inches, at Battle Mountain, Nev., 1870-1916° — Continued. 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1902 


0.40 
1.35 
1.10 
Tr. 
.90 


0.68 
.20 

1.72 
.40 


0.85 
.92 
.60 

.28 


0.30 
.50 
Tr. 


0.25 
.40 
.75 
.12 




.34 
Tr. 
Tr. 

.45 
Tr. 

Tr. 

.46 

2.53 
1.25 






0.80 


Tr. 





.09 
Tr. 
.51 
.47 
.15 
1.64 
.10 
.02 



0.10 


Tr. 

.15 
Tr. 

.05 



.75 





.20 

.37 


Tr. 




0.19 


1.17 
.10 


1.50 

1.00 
.07 
.39 
.10 
.20 
.67 
.15 
Tr. 


0.10 
.60 

1.55 
.05 

Tr. 

1.00 

.20 
.31 
.10 

1.11 
Tr. 

1.49 
Tr. 


0.70 
.90 

Tr. 

1.00 
.50 


Tr. 
62.96 
.36 
.20 
.06 
.90 

Tr. 
.10 



1.10 
Tr. 

.70 




1903 


6.11 


1904 


7.39 


1905 


2.80 


1906 




1907 


.03 
.90 
.67 
.70 
.40 
.20 
.05 
.25 
.67 
.72 

te recc 


.61 
.04 

1.10 
.08 
.32 

1.00 
.38 

.20 

.52 

rds . . . 


1.75 

.14 

.30 

1.40 

2.90 

.56 

Tr. 

2.40 

Tr. 


Tr. 
.83 

Tr. 


1.20 
.20 
.41 
.25 

1.51 

Tr. 


2.05 



.83 
1.23 

.80 
.30 

.78 




1908 


.47 

2.40 

1.60 

1.47 

-.20 

.27 

.55 

.30 

1.40 

'omple 




1909 


9.12 


1910. . . 


5.48 


1911 


6.92 


1912 




1913 


8.56 


1914 




1915 


.02 


5.22 


1916 




Mean of the 35 ( 










6.97 





























a U. S. Weather Bur. Bull. W, section 12, pp. 2-3. 



SURFACE WATER. 



b Interpolated. 



Reese River is supplied chiefly by its headwaters in the upper 
slopes of the Toyabe Range. It has no large tributaries, and most 
of the creeks that drain its narrow basin sides are dry during the 
summer. Like many other streams of the arid regions, the river 
itself alternately rises and sinks during the dry season. Near its 
headwaters the river is perennial; but not far below the point where 
it enters the valley the water is diverted into several irrigation 
ditches, and its channel becomes dry during most summers for a 
stretch of 6 or 7 miles between the Derringer and Bowler ranches. 
A short distance above the Bowler ranch the water reappears in 
small amount, and downstream it gradually increases in volume. 
The reappearing underflow is considerably augmented by water 
from a group of springs at the Whaley ranch. The flow is again 
diverted and used in irrigation on the Walsh Hess ranch, and below 
the alfalfa fields and native hay meadows of this ranch the channel 
is usually dry for about 10 miles, to the vicinity of the Gondolfo 
ranch. There the underflow reappears in several groups of springs 
and is in part again diverted for irrigation, but most of it is allowed 
to sink in the river channel, and during the later part of summer the 
water seldom flows as far north as Boone Creek. The river channel 
from Boone Creek to Humboldt River is dry throughout the summer. 

A record of the flow of Reese River has been obtained by the 
United States Geological Survey at a gaging station on the upper 
course of the river about 1| miles below Archie Bell's ranch and 
about 7 miles east of Berlin. The gage is a vertical staff on the left 
bank in the SW. \ sec. 16, T. 12 N., R. 40 E., about 75 yards above 
Illinois Creek and 100 yards above the headgate of the upper Bell 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 425 PLATE XI 




** 




-/MX..** 






k«^* 



X. VALLEY OF BOONE CREEK, LOOKING DOWNSTREAM FROM MRS. LITSTERS 

RANCH. 




B. SPRING iy 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ANTELOPE SPRING, IN ANTELOPE VALLEY. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 105 

ditch. The drainage area is 94 square miles. The observer is Roy 
Bell. Tho daily and monthly discharge from June 10, 1913, to Sep- 
tember 30, 1916, are given in tho following tables: 

Daily discharge, in second-feet, of Reese Hirer above Illinois Creek for the years ending 

Sept. SO, 1913-1916. 



Day. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Day. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


1913. 
1 




6 
6 
6 
6 
5 

5 

5 

5 

6.7 

6 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 


4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 


84 
173 

45 
4 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

4 
4 
6 
6 
4 


1913. 
16 


9.4 
7.1 
8.2 
8.2 

8.2 

6 
6 

7.1 
6 

6 

8.2 
20 
19 
14 
12 


4 
4 
4 
4 
10.5 

8.2 

2 

4 

4 

4 

4 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 


4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

4 

8.2 

4 

4 

6 

8.2 
6 

8.2 
10 
6 
4 


2.5 


2 




17 


8.2 


3 




18 


4 


4 




19 


10 


5 




20 


4 


6 




21 


2.5 


7 




22 


8.2 


8 






6 


9 




24 


4 


10 


19 

19 
13 
13 
14 
12 


25 


4 


11 


26 


4 


12 


27 


2.5 


13... 


28 


4 


14... 


29 


4 


15... 


30 


4 




31 













Day. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


1913-14. 

1 

2 

3 


4.0 
4.0 
4.0 
4.0 
4.0 

2.5 
2.5 
1.7 

1.7 
2.5 

4.0 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 

2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 

2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 

2.5 
4.0 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 


4.0 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 

2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
4.0 

4.0 
2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
4.0 

6.0 
4.0 
4.0 
4.0 
4.0 

2.5 
2.5 
2.5 
4.0 
2.5 

2.5 
6.0 
6.0 
6.0 
4.0 


4 
4 
4 
4 
4 

4 


6 
6 
6 

8 
8 

8 
8 
8 




6 

8 
10 

8 
8 

8 

9 

10 

16 

22 

25 
29 
29 
32 
36 

44 
40 
40 
44 
44 

44 
48 
48 
44 
52 

52 
57 
52 
19 
19 
19 


19 
19 
25 
40 
44 

40 
44 
40 
40 
40 

40 
40 
40 

48 
48 

52 
72 
57 
48 
67 

57 
48 
52 
57 
52 

57 
52 
62 
60 
64 


64 
60 
130 
130 
130 

122 
114 
122 
122 
122 

130 
122 
130 
138 
130 

154 
146 
138 
130 
150 

158 
166 
162 
154 
138 

122 
100 
106 
110 
106 
138 


130 
138 
130 
122 
126 

122 
122 
114 

100 

87 

82 
76 
76 
68 
63 

63 
55 
51 
51 
53 

53 
47 
45 
40 
36 

32 
51 
32 
32 
30 


26 
26 
24 
22 
22 

21 
21 
21 
21 
21 

21 
20 
20 
20 
18 

18 
20 
2P 
32 
40 

55 
20 
16 
15 
14 

14 
14 
14 
14 
12 
12 


11 
11 
9.6 

8.5 
8.5 

8.5 
8.5 
8.5 
8.5 
8.5 

8.5 
8.5 
9.6 
9.6 

8.5 

8.5 
8.5 
8.5 
8.5 
6.3 

6.3 
6.3 
11 
8.5 

7.4 

6.3 
5.2 
5.2 
6.3 
6.3 
6.3 


6.3 
6.3 
6.3 


4 


6.3 


5 


6.3 


6 


6.3 


7 


6.3 


8 


7.4 


9 


6.3 


10 








6 3 


11 








6 3 


12 








6 3 


13 








6.3 


14 








6.3 


15 








6.3 


16 








6.3 


17 








6.3 


18 








6.3 


19 








6 3 


20 






36 

25 
13 

9 

6 

4 

2.5 

6 

6 


6 3 


21 






5.2 


22 






7.4 


23 






7 4 


24 






8.5 


25 






9.6 


26 






11 


27 






7.4 


28 


4 
5 
6 
6 




7.4 


29 


7.4 


30 






7.4 











106 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1911. 

Daily discharge, in second-feet, of Reese River above Illinois Creek for the years ending 
Sept. 30, 1913-1916— Continued. 



Day. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


1914-15. 
1 


5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 

5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 

5.5 
5.5 
4.5 
3.5 
5.5 

5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
7.0 

7.0 
5.0 
5.0 
6.0 
7.0 

7.0 
7.0 
9.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 

3.1 
3.1 
3.1 
2.9 
3.1 

3.1 
2.9 
3.1 
3.1 
3.9 

4.7 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.3 

5.1 
5.1 
5.1 


7.0 
' 7.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 

7.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 








7.0 
7.0 
8.0 
8.0 
8.0 

7.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 
7.0 

7.0 
7.0 
7.0 

11 

11 

12 
12 
13 
12 
12 

12 
13 
13 
13 
13 

13 
13 
25 
25 
28 
30 


28 
28 
28 
30 
31 

32 
34 
34 
34 
34 

34 
34 
37 
40 
42 

43 
59 

57 
65 
65 

62 
62 
62 
65 
65 

62 
65 
62 
69 
65 


69 
62 
62 
62 
65 

69 
71 
71 
73 
69 

73 
73 
69 
73 
73 

78 
80 
73 
73 
69 

65 
62 
65 
69 

78 

78 
78 
78 
88 
101 
105 


118 
128 
128 
128 
118 

101 
86 
69 
69. 
69 

67 
67 
67 
62 
62 

60 
59 
58 
56 
54 

52 
51 
50 
48 

47 

47 
47 
40 
37 
36 

36 
40 
37 
39 
41 

43 
44 
47 
46 
46 

47 
46 
46 
40 
40 

40 
33 
26 
19 

24 

23 
22 
21 
20 
19 

19 
12 
12 
12 
12 


35 
35 
35 
36 
36 

35 
35 
34 
31 
27 

25 
21 
21 
20 
20 

20 
19 
19 
19 
21 

22 
22 
21 
21 
20 

19 
19 
18 
17 
17 
17 

11 
12 
12 
11 
8.5 

7.6 
8.0 
8.5 

7.9 

8.5 

8.5 
11 
12 
10 

8.5 

8.5 
8.5 
7.9 
8.5 

8.5 

8.5 
7.9 
7.3 
6.7 
5.9 

5.5 
5.1 
5.5 
4.5 
3.5 
3.5 


17 
17 
16 
16 
14 

14 
14 




2 










3 










4 










5 










6 










7 










8 










9 












10 










1.7 


11 








1.5 


12 










2.3 


13 










2.3 


14 










2.3 


15 










2.5 


16 










2.7 


17 










2.7 


18 










2.3 


19 










2.3 


20 










2.7 


21 










2.7 


22 










2.5 


23 










2.7 


24 










2.7 


25 










3.1 


26 










3.1 


27 










3.1 


28 










3.1 


29 










3.1 


30 










3.1 


31 












1915-16. 
1 










3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 

3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 

3.5 

3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 

3.5 

3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.5 
3.1 

3.1 
3.1 
3.0 
2.9 

2.9 

2.8 
2.7 
3.1 
3.1 
3.1 
3.1 


3.1 


2 
















2.9 


3 
















2.7 


4 
















2.5 


5 


5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 

5.5 
5.5 
5.1 
4.7 

4.7 

4.3 
4.1 
4.3 
3.9 
3.5 

5.1 
5.1 
5.3 
5.1 
5.5 

5.1 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 
5.5 


5.5 

4.5 
4.5 
5.1 
5.1 
5.3 

5.3 












2.5 


6 












2.5 


7 










65 
64 
63 
60 

58 
56 
54 
52 
50 

49 
48 
48 
48 

48 

48 
47 
48 
48 
48 

47 
44 
40 
40 
39 
36 


1.9 


8 










1.7 


9 










1.5 


10 










1.9 


11 










2.0 


12 










2.2 


13 












2.3 


14 












2.1 


15 












1.9 


16 












1.9 


17 












2.3 


18 












2.3 


19 












2.3 


20 














2.5 


21 














2.7 


22 














2.7 


23 














2.7 


24 














2.3 


25 














2.7 


26 














3.1 


27 














2.6 


28 


3.5 












2.0 


29 












1.5 


30 














1.5 


31 



































Note.— Discharge estimated as follows: Dec. 7-27, 1913, 3 second-feet; Jan. 9-31 and Feb. 1-19, 1914, 
5 second-feet; Aug. 8-31, 1915, 10 second-feet; Sept. 1-9, 1915, 3.4 second-feet; Oct. 19-27, 1915, 4.3 second- 
feet; Oct. 29-31, 1915, 3.8 second-feet; Nov. 1-6, 1915, 4.9 second-feet; Dec. 1-4, 1915, 5.5 second-feet. No 
records obtained Nov. 11, 1914, to Feb. 28, 1915, and Dec. 12, 1915, to May 6, 1916. 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 



WATER-SUPPLY TAPER 42!) PLATE XII 




* r mr m - 



•*•- *■■' j*- 



A. HEAD OF REESE RIVER CANYON, SHOWING TERTIARY LAKE BEDS ON EACH 

SIDE. 




mm 



B. REESE RIVER VALLEY, LOOKING DOWNSTREAM FROM JAMES LITSTER'S 
RANCH; TERTIARY LAKE BEDS ON THE RIGHT. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 107 



Monthly discharge of Reese River above Illinois Creek near Berlin, Nev., for the years 
ending Sept.'SO, 1913-1916. 



Month. 



June 10-30.. 

July 

August 

September. 



1913. 



The period. 



Discharge in second-feet. 



Maximum. Minimum. Mean 



20 
10.5 
10 
173 



Oetober 

November. 
December.. 

January 

February. . 
March.. ^... 

April 

May 



June 

July 

August 

September . 



The year . 



October 

November 1-10. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 



October 

November 

December 1-11 . 

May 7-31 

June 

July 

August 

September 



1913-1-1. 



57 
72 
166 
138 
55 
11 
11 



166 



9.0 
7.0 
30 
69 
105 
128 
36 
17 



5.5 
5.5 
5.5 

65 

47 

12 
3.5 
3.1 



7.1 
4.0 
4.0 
2.5 




Run-off 
(total In 

acre-feet). 



1.7 

2.5 



2.5 

6 
19 
60 
30 
12 

5.2 

5.2 



1.7 



3.5 
7.0 
7.0 

28 

62 

36 

17 



1.5 



2.79 
3.47 
3.48 
5.58 
7.23 
29.7 
47.5 
127 
74.2 
21.1 
8.1 
6.86 



2S.2 



5.89 
7.0 
12.1 

47.6 
73.4 
69.4 
24.4 
11.2 
2.84 



2.9 


4.09 


3.5 


5.01 


4.5 


5.21 


36 


49.9 


12 


31.7 


3.5 


8.08 


2.7 


3.31 


1.5 


2.29 



467 
301 
295 
845 



1.910 



172 

2')> 

214 

343 

402 

1.830 

2, .830 

7, 810 

4, 420 

1,300 

498 

408 



20.400 



362 

139 

744 

2. 830 

4.510- 

4,130 

1,500 

689 

169 



251 
298 
114 
2,220- 
1,890 
497 
204 
136 



Measurements of the discharge of Reese River at several points 
made by the writer in September, 1916, and by L. W. Jordan in June, 
1917, are given in the following table: 

Miscellaneous discharge measurements of Reese River at several points. 



Date. 



1916. 
Sept. 6 
6 
8 
8 
11 
11 
11 
13 
13 
13 
13 

1917. 
June 13 



I'oint of measurement. 



Mouth of canyon a few yards above Bell's ditch 

Gaging station 75 yards'above mouth of Illinois Creek 

East of J. F. Bowler's house 

6 miles north of Whaley ranch 

Welch's home ranch 

Tony Gondolfo's house 

Road bridge on Lincoln Highway west of Austin 

Malloy 's lower ranch 

Mouth of Silver Creek ; water flowing to head of field about £ mile above mouth of creek. 
3 miles above mouth of Boone (reek (water from Bradley and Watercress springs) . . 

Mouth of Boone Creek 

Thence dry for the remainder of its course. 

SW. } sec. 16, T. 12 N.,R.40 E., just above mouth of Illinois Creek, 2 miles above the 
Bell home ranch 



In T. 15 N., R. 41 E.j 1,600 feet downstream from Lander-Nye County line, opposite 
lone butte about 25 miles south of Austin. 



In T. 20 N., R. 43 E., at first highway bridge across Reese River on the Austin-Battle 
Mountain road near the Malloy ranch and 8 to 10 miles from Austin (water comes 
from marshy land 5 to 10 miles above and is very brackish) 

At mouth of Boone Canyon, 50 to 60 miles south of Battle Mountain (stream is dry at 
this point in years of average run-off) 



"Discharge 
in second- 
feet. 



2.67 

2.34 

.22 

5.16 

Dry. 

.55 

2.90 

1.23 

Dry. 

.05 

Dry. 



58.0 
134 

22.0 
5-10 



Note. — In June, 1917, Reese River was flowing into Humboldt River at Battle Mountain. 
30580°— 18— wsp 425d— 3 



108 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

The principal streams in the basin are, from north to south, Mill, 
Fish, Boone, Silver, Big, Clear, and. Stewart creeks. In September, 
1916, all these streams were carrying water for some distance below 
the mouths of their canyons. 

A record of the flow of Big Creek has been obtained by the United 
States Geological Survey at a gaging station half a mile above the 
Carter ranch and 14 miles southwest of Austin. The gage used was 
a vertical staff on the left bank 100 yards above the head gate of 
Carter's ditch, in sec. 9, T. 17 N., R. 43 E. The drainage area is 
about 12 square miles. The observer was Mae M. Carter. The daily 
and monthly discharges from October 12, 1913, to June 30, 1914, 
are given in the following tables: 

Daily discharge, in second-feet, of Big Creek half a mile above Carter ranch, near Austin, 
Nev.,for the period Oct. 12, 1913, to June 30, 1914. 



Day. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


1 




4.3 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 


4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

3.9 
3.9 
3.9 
3.9 
3.9 

3.9 
3.9 
3.9 
3.9 
3.9 
3.9 


4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 


4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4-1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 


4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4 -l 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 


4.1 
4.3 
4.5 
4.7 
4.9 

5.1 
5.2 

5.4 
5.6 
5.7 

5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 

5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 

5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
5.7 

5.7 
5.7 
5.7 
6.0 
6.0 


5.7 
5.7 
6.0 
6.0 
6.0 

6.0 
6.0 

8.4 
8.4 
8.4 

8.4 
8.4 
8.4 
6.0 
6.0 

6.0 
6.0 
6.0 

8.4 
6.0 

6.0 
7.2 
8.4 
8.4 
8.4 

8.4 
6.0 
6.0 
6.0 
6.0 
10.8 


8 4 


2 




8 4 


3 




8 4 


4 




8 4 


5 




8 4 


6 




9 


7 




10 8 


8 




9 6 


9 




9 


10 




9 


11 




9.0 


12 


4.3 
4.3 
4.3 
4.3 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 

4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 


9 


13 


9.6 


14 


9.0 


IS 


9.6 


16 


9.6 


17 


9.6 


18 


9.6 


19 


9.6 


20 


9.6 


21 


9.6 


22 


9.0 


23 


9.6 


24 


10.2 


25 


9.6 


26 


9.6 


27 


9.6 


28 


9.6 


29 


9.0 


30 


9.6 


31 











Monthly discharge of Big Creek half a mile above Carter ranch, near Austin, Nev.,for the 
period Oct. 12, 1913, to June 30, 1914. 



Month. 


Discharge in second-feet. 


Run-ofT 
(total in 
acre-feet). 


Maximum. 


Minimum. 


Mean. 


October 12-31 


4.3 
4.3 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
6.0 
10.8 
10.8 


4.1 
4.1 
3.9 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
4.1 
5.7 
8.4 


4.14 
4.11 
4.02 
4.10 
4.10 
4.10 
5.47 
7.03 
9.30 


165 




245 


December 


247 




252 




228 




252 


April 


325 




432 


June 


553 






The Deriod 








2,700 













(I HOUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 109 

Humboldt River carries only a small amount of water late in sum- 
mer. The principal stream, besides Reese River, that is tributary 
to the Humboldt within the area shown on Plate VIII is Rock Creek. 

A record of the flow of Rock Creek has been obtained by the 
United States Geological Survey at a point about H miles above the 
Rock Creek ranch house, 9 miles northwest of Dunphy, and about 
35 miles north of Battle Mountain. The gage used was a vertical 
staff near the left end of an old footbridge about a mile above the 
diversion dam at the mouth of the canyon, approximately in sec. 
1, T. 37 N., R. 46 E. The drainage area has not been measured. 
The observer was W. H. Muffley. The daily and monthly discharges 
for May 13 to Sept. 30, 1915, are given in the following tables: 

Daily discharge, in second-feet, of Rock Creek at Rock Creek ranch, near Battle Mountain, 
Nev.,for the period May 13 to Sept. SO, 1915. 



Day. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Day. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


1. 




15 
15 
15 
14 
13 

13 
13 
13 
12 
11 

12 
13 
13 
13 
13 


1.5 
1.5 
1.5 
1.0 
.4 

.4 
.4 


4.4 
4.7 
5.0 
5.3 
5.6 

5.8 
6.0 
6.2 
6.4 
6.7 

6.7 
6.7 
6.7 


3.6 
3.6 
3.6 
3.6 
3.6 

4.0 
4.2 
4.4 
4.4 
4.4 

4.4 
4.4 
4.4 
4.8 
5.2 


16 


8.8 
8.1 

10 

13 

15 

17 
15 
13 
14 
16 

17 
16 
15 
14 
12 
11 


13 
12 
12 
11 

7 

2.7 
3.6 

4.4 
4.4 
4.4 

3.6 
3.3 
3.0 

2.7 
2.1 






5 6 


2. 




17 


6.7 






3 




18 






4. 




19 








5. 




20 








6. 




21 












22 








8 




23 








9. 




24 








10. 




25 


4.4 

4.4 
4.4 
4.4 
4.4 
4.4 
4.4 






11 




26 






12. 




27 






13. 


12 
11 

9.5 


28 






14. 


29 


3.6 
3.6 
3.6 




15. 






30 










31 





Note.— Discharge estimated as follows: July 8-16, 3.5 second-feet; July 18-24, 5.6 second-feet; Aug. 
14-28, 5.2 second-feet; Sept. 17-30, 5 second-feet. 

Monthly discharge of Rock Creek at Rock Creek ranch, near Battle Mountain, Nev.,for the 
period May 13 to Sept. 30, 1915. 



Month. 


Discharge in second-feet. 


Run-off 
(total in 
acre-feet). 


Maximum. 


Minimum. 


Mean. 


Mav 13-31 


17 

15 
6.7 
6.7 
5.6 


8.1 
2.1 
.4 
3.6 
3.6 


13.0 
9.57 
3.71 
5.32 
4.61 


491 




569 


July 


228 




327 




274 












1,890 






1 





110 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OP UNITED STATES, 1917. 



Miscellaneous discharge measurements made by the writer during 
the reconnaissance are given in the following table: 

Miscellaneous discharge measurements in Reese River and Humboldt River basins, Nev., 

1916. 




Sept. 6 

6 

6 

6 

6 

13 

13 

14 

15 

15 

15 

20 

21 

21 



Bell's ditch 300 yards below its intake from Reese River 

Stewart Creek at Schmaling's ranch 

Stewart Creek 3 miles above Schmaling's ranch 

Clear Creek at Gooding's ranch • 

Silver Creek at upper (eastern) road crossiag 

Boone Creek at Mrs. Litster's ranch 

Boone Creek at Boone Creek ranch 

Fish Creek at Fish Creek ranch 

Mill Creek at mouth of its canyon 

North Fork of Mill Creek 25 yards above its junction with South Fork. 
South Fork of Mill Creek 25 yards above its junction with North Fork 

Humboldt River at road crossing H- miles southwest of Kampos 

Rock Creek at bridge at mouth of its canyon..... 

Rock Creek 1 mile above the bridge 



0.8 
.2 
.6 
.2 
.20 
.15 
.10 
.60 
.20 
.15 
.30 

1.75 
.30 



SOURCE AND DISCHARGE OF GROUND WATER. 

Practically all the ground water of the Reese River valley is 
derived from the precipitation within the drainage basin. The bed- 
rock constitutes a relatively water-tight basin, which is deeply filled 
with unconsolidated deposits in which the ground water is stored. 
Some water is supplied to this underground reservoir directly by the 
precipitation on the valley lands, but the greater part is supplied 
by the run-off through the numerous canyons, whose water rapidly 
sinks in the loose materials of the alluvial slopes below the canyon 
mouths. 

The contributions of water to the underground supply are offset 
by losses through percolation out of the basin, through evaporation 
and transpiration from moist areas, and through discharge of springs. 

The underground percolation from the Reese River valley to Hum- 
boldt Valley is probably slight, because the gradient of the lower part 
of the Reese River valley is low. 

In the areas of appreciable discharge through evaporation where 
the water table is within the capillary limit 1 of about 10 feet below 
the surface the evidence of constant evaporation is usually shown 
by the dampness of the ground, by alkaline deposits, or by the 
growth of certain plants, chiefly salt grass and various bushes. 
Ground water is less than 10 feet below the surface of nearly all 
the cultivated land in the Reese River basin. These lands are 
devoted chiefly to growing native hay, but there are a few fields of 
alfalfa. Along Humboldt River, however, much of the native-hay 
land is irrigated by ditches from the river, and the ground water 

1 Lee, C. H., An intensive study of the water resources of a part of Owens Valley, Cal. : IT. S. Geol. Survey 
Water-Supply Paper 294, 1912. Mefnzer, O. E., Geology and water resources of Big Smoky, Clayton, and 
Alkali Spring valleys, Nev.: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 423, pp. 92-102, 1917. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEW 111 

is shown by wells to be at a somewhat greater depth than the 
probable limit of appreciable discharge through evaporation. The 
areas both of cultivated land and of ground-water discharge through 
capillarity arc shown on Plate VIII (in pocket). 

There are not many springs in the drainage basin of Reese River. 
Most of them are in the mountains and are supplied by rain and 
snow water from the adjacent slopes. Some of the springs in the 
lowlands, such as Mound Spring, the hot springs east of Fish Creek, 
and the hot springs in Buffalo Valley, are probably supplied by 
deep-seated water that rises along fault fractures and does not represent 
leakage from the valley fill. Antelope Spring and the springs south- 
west of it (see PI. VIII, in pocket, and PL XI, B) and Bradley and 
Watercress springs seem to be supplied by water stored in materials 
of the Truckee formation, above the valley lowlands. Buffalo and 
Kane springs, in Buffalo Valley, are apparently supplied by water 
under artesian pressure stored in the alluvial slopes at the base of 
the Havallah Range. A spring (No. 12 on PI. VIII) in the lowland 
southwest of Battle Mountain seems to be supplied from the water 
table, at a place where the ground surface is depressed a few feet 
below its mean level. The springs along the river channels near 
Tony Gondolfo's ranch, in the valley above Austin, represent the 
return of the underflow to the surface. The springs at Whaley's 
ranch issue from the alluvial slope on the west side of the lowland 
and discharge water stored in the unconsolidated material. 

WATER TABLE. 

Practically all the wells in the area at the time of examination are 
shown on Plate VIII. Except at Battle Mountain, where there are 
about 40 small flowing wells, enough wells have not been sunk on the 
slopes bordering the lowlands to ascertain the depth to water be- 
neath these slopes. The valley areas within which the water table 
is less than 10 feet below the surface are shown on Plate VIII, and 
the depth to water in the wells examined is indicated. 

From the shallow-water areas the water table rises toward the 
mountains on a grade considerably less than that of the surface, so 
that the depth to water increases rapidly with increased elevation 
above the lowlands. The only measurement obtained that affords 
definite information as to the slope of the water table was that of the 
well at the O'Toole ranch (No. 83 on PI. VIII). The depth to water 
there is 80 feet, and the mouth of the well is about 130 feet above 
the lowland near the river, a mile to the west, where the depth to water 
is about 10 feet. The water table in this vicinity therefore seems to 
rise to the east at the rate of 60 feet if> the mile, having a gradient 
about half as steep as that of the surface of the ground. The slope 
of the water table in different parts of the basin depends on the sup- 



112 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

ply of ground water, the slope of the surface, and the character of 
the material in which the water occurs. The single observation 
given can not be applied indiscriminately to other parts of the basin.. 

QUANTITY OF GROUND WATER. 

Studies of the amount of ground-water intake were not made by 
measurements of the perennial and intermittent streams, nor of the 
ground-water discharge by a survey and detailed examination of the 
areas where the water table is within 10 feet of the surface. Neither 
are figures at hand to show the depth and porosity of the valley fill. 
Any numerical estimate of the total amount of ground-water 
stored in the valley fill of the Reese River basin would therefore 
seem to be a mere guess. As the annual supply of surface water is 
not sufficient to make the river perennial, even in the upper half of 
its course, the annual intake of ground water must be comparatively 
small, though records of drilled wells indicate that the valley fill is 
several hundred feet deep and therefore has large storage capacity. 
Test wells show that the materials are prevailingly fine grained, how- 
ever, and that the rate at which water can be recovered by pumping 
is slow. 

The depth to water is less in the upper part of the Reese River 
valley, south of the Reese River canyon, than it is in the lowlands 
north of the canyon. The amount of available ground water is 
therefore presumably greater in the upper part of the valley than 
in the lower part. Antelope Valley probably contains a relatively 
small amount of ground water, for its drainage basin is small and its 
lowland seems dry. Buffalo Valley receives considerable water 
from the high slopes of the Havallah Range and from the drainage 
basin that extends northward between Battle Mountain and the 
Havallah Range. It apparently has a more plentiful supply of 
ground water than Antelope Valley, and its water table is less than 
10 feet below the surface in the lowest part of the valley. 

ARTESIAN CONDITIONS. 

In the town of Battle Mountain drilled or bored wells that yield 
artesian flows under small head furnish the water supply. In 1916 
43 flowing wells were reported in the town and vicinity. There are 
said to be four horizons of flowing water, at about 100, 180, 250, and 
300 feet below the surface. The greatest static head encountered 
is reported to have been about 16 feet above the surface. The artesian 
head has declined noticeably since the Southern Pacific Co; drilled 
a deep well in the town and has been pumping large quantities of 
water from it to supply locomotives. On the north side of Hum- 
boldt River four flowing wells (Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 18, PI. VIII), were 
drilled prior to 1904, and in 1916 each of these was flowing a few 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 113 

gallons a minute. On the Jenkins Martin ranch, 9 miles south of 
Battle Mountain, there were three wells that barely flowed. 

In the Reese River valley above the canyon several wells have 
been drilled in attempts to develop artesian flows to supply stock- 
watering troughs. A well (No. 56) drilled 210 feet deep near the 
border of the lowland, 1$ miles north of Boone Creek, struck water 
under slight artesian head, sufficient to bring it within 3 feet of the 
surface, or about 8 feet above the ground-water level. On James 
Litster's ranch a casing sunk 15 feet into a small spring (No. 54) yields 
a slight flow, and in 1916 a well was being drilled a few yards from it, 
in an attempt to obtain a larger flow. A well (No. 63) drilled near 
Bradley Springs yields a small flow. On the Walsh home ranch a 
flow of 8 gallons a minute was obtained at about 450 feet. On W. S. 
Carter's desert claim a 200-foot well (No. 78) obtained a flow of 10 
gallons a minute, but another well 505 feet deep, drilled on the same 
tract, failed to strike flowing water. Fred Ahlers has two wells (Nos. 
80 and 81) 6 feet apart and 107 and 110 feet deep. The shallower 
one yields a slight flow. In the other the water stands 2 feet below 
the surface. On the Walsh Hess ranch a well was drilled 860 feet 
deep in an unsuccessful attempt to develop a flow. 

Above the Reese River canyon the prospects of obtaining flowing 
wells are best in the lowlands near the river, as shown by the success 
of the well at the Walsh home ranch and to a less extent by that on 
W. S. Carter's desert claim. The Ahlers wells seem to be at about 
the eastern limit of artesian flow. The wells drilled in this part 
of the valley encountered only clay and very fine sand, the flows 
being obtained from a fine black sand. None of the wells encoun- 
tered coarse material that might readily yield water. 

In the places along the Reese River valley where extensive alluvial 
slopes exist small supplies of flowing water can probably be obtained 
by wells put down along the lower margins of these slopes. It 
seems improbable that the underflow of Reese River itself develops 
sufficient head to yield artesian flows. The underflow of Big Creek 
and adjacent canyons probably supplies the Carter and Ahlers 
flowing wells and also the one at Walsh's home ranch. Flows can 
probably be obtained along the east border of the lowlands between 
Italian Creek and Watercress Springs, on the west border near Fish 
Creek, on the east side between Mill Creek and Crum Creek, and 
near the playa in Antelope Valley. In Buffalo Valley Buffalo 
Springs and Kane Springs seem to be supplied by water under 
artesian pressure below the alluvial slopes to the west. In the 
vicinity of Battle Mountain and probably along the valley of Hum- 
boldt River above and below this town flowing water under a small 
static head can doubtless be obtained over a much greater area 
than is at present outlined by flowing wells. 



114 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OP UNITED STATES, 1917. 

Throughout the Reese River basin and adjacent portions of the 
Humboldt basin the artesian head is small and the water-bearing 
beds consist largely of fine sand. The prospects of developing flow- 
ing wells of large yield are therefore not encouraging. 

QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 

GENERAL CHARACTER. 

Analyses of samples of water from wells and springs in the Reese 
River basin (see table, pp. 125-129) show that the waters are quite as 
good as those in other valleys of the arid West. Although the grade 
of Reese River is not great and its discharge is small, the basin as a 
whole is well enough drained to prevent the accumulation of alkali 
in the valley lands. Most of the waters are satisfactory for domestic 
use and for irrigation, but more than hah of those examined would 
form excessive quantities of scale or cause foaming in boilers. 

The water from most of the drilled wells is more satisfactory for 
ordinary uses than that obtained from shallow dug wells, and the 
water obtained from springs is apparently poorer than that from 
the deep wells but better than that from the shallow wells. This 
relation is shown by the following table: 

Average, maximum, and minimum content of chemical constituents in water from dug- 
wells, drilled wells, and springs. 

[Parts per million excr t as otherwise designated.] 



Silica (Si0 2 ) 

Iron (Fe) 

Calcium (Ca) 

Magnesium (Mg) 

Sodium and potassium(Na+ K)t> 

Crrbonate radicle (C0 3 ) 

Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 

Sulphate radicle (SO4) 

Chloride radicle (CI) 

Nitrate radicle (N0 3 ) 

Total dissolved solids at ]80°C . 



Total hardness as C1CO3 c 

Scale-forming constituents':... 

Foaming constituents c 

Alkali coefficient (inches) c 



40 

64* 

17 
131 

14 
304 
111 

78 

19 
638 

229 

260 

350 

23 



Depth of well (feet) 26 

Depth to water (feet) I 20 



Dug wells (21). 



Aver- 



Maxi- 
mum. 



67 

125* 

42 

587 

168 

793 

601 

557 

80 

2,133 

394 

420 

1,600 

79 

108 



.30 



Mini- 
mum. 



17 

.02 
21 
6.7 
32 

.0 

107 

20 

16 

.0 

281 



Springs (6). 



Drilled wells (9). a 



Aver- 
age. 



60 

Tr. 

60 

9.3 

123 

2.3 
392 
86 
28 

1.0 
580 

188 
250 
330 
30 



Maxi- 
mum. 



117 
Tr. 
123 

36 
327 

14 
761 
227 

50 
6.0 
1,032 

455 
460 



Mini- 
mum. 



35 

Tr. 

30 

10 

16 
.0 
129 

22 

16 
.0 
252 

75 
180 
43 
2.5 



Aver- 



39 

Tr. 

60 

18 

32 
9.5 
222 

56 

25 
.0 
370 

223 

250 

87 

100 

254 
(d) 



Maxi- 
mum. 



73 

Tr. 
157 

52 

50 

38 
670 

89 

84 



606 
580 
140 
290 

500 
16 



Mini- 
mum. 



17 
Tr. 

23 
Tr. 
2.8- 

.a 

44 

24 
6.0 
.0 
235 

58 
120 



25 
(d) 



a Well No. 54 omitted; sample contained vegetable matter; water probably of surface origin. 

t> Calculated. 

c See standards for classification given in U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 398, pp. 50-81, 1916. 

d Seven of the nine drilled wells are flowing. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 115 
WATER FROM DUG WELLS. 

The effect of evaporation and transpiration, the processes that 
tend to concentrate natural waters, is shown in the analyses mainly 
by the greater amount of total dissolved mineral matter, most of 
which consists of the more soluble salts, for the less soluble salts 
are more readily precipitated. As a net result, therefore, of evapo- 
ration and transpiration the water remaining in the ground contains 
relatively more of the alkalies and less calcium and magnesium 
than water not thus concentrated. As these processes are active at 
the surface of the ground, the water of many shallow wells contains 
large amounts of sodium and potassium, carbonate, bicarbonate, sul- 
phate, and chloride and is therefore high in total solids. 

The content of total solids in the water from dug wells in the 
Reese River basin ranges from 281 to 2,133 parts per million; the 
average is 638 parts. The proportions of calcium and magnesium 
are relatively large, as would be expected from the fact that the 
rocks of the region are calcareous, but in many of the waters the 
alkalies greatly exceed the alkaline earths. Carbonate is present 
in the water of 8 of the 21 dug wells, and in that of one of the 
wells it amounts to 168 parts per million. The content of bicarbonate 
ranges from 107 to 793 parts per million, averaging 304 parts. Sul- 
phates and chlorides are high in some of the waters, but in only a 
few are they present in excess of other acid radicles. 

The presence of organic matter in excessive amounts is worthy of 
mention. Nitrate is normally absent from ground waters or is present 
in only small amounts, for rocks as a rule contain only traces and soils 
but little more. The nitrate in these well waters is probably derived 
f re in decayed organic matter and indicates pollution by sewage, which 
may seep from near-by barnyards, privies, or cesspools through the 
ground and into the wells, or may fall into the wells through open 
tops or through covers that are not water-tight and dirt-proof. Many 
shallow wells are thus contaminated, and if analyses of waters from 
such wells show that nitrate amounts to more than a few parts per 
million the sanitary conditions surrounding the wells should be care- 
fully examined, possible sources of pollution should be removed, covers 
should be so fitted that waste water will drain away from rather than 
into the well, and farm animals should be kept at a safe distance. 

Most of the waters are of the carbonate type, ten (Nos. 5, 37, 43, 
50, 72, 74, 82, 83, 85, and 98) being calcium-carbonate and eight 
(Nos. 6, 7, 8, 20, 46, 55, 66, and 87) sodium-carbonate. Of the three 
remaining, two (Nos. 34 and 49) are sodium-chloride waters and one 
(No. 32) is a calcium-sulphate water. 

Six of the waters (Nos. 32, 34, 37, 49, 66, and 72) have been classed 
as bad for domestic use, chiefly because of their hardness but partly 
because they contain excessive amounts of chloride and sulphate. 



116 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1911. 

The other fifteen (Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 20, 43, 46, 50, 55, 74, 82, 83, 85, 87, 
and 98) range in quality from fair to good for drinking and cook- 
ing, so far as mineral content is concerned, though they may be pol- 
luted, as has been suggested in connection with the discussion of 
nitrate. None of the waters can be classed as good for use in boilers, 
and only four (Nos. 7, 20, 87, and 98) have been classed as fair; the 
rest (Nos. 5, 6, 8, 32, 34, 37, 43, 46, 49, 50, 55, 66, 72, 74, 82, 83, 85, 
and 98) are poor or very bad, for they contain in too great amount 
constituents that cause incrusting and foaming, and the water of 
one well (No. 32), if used for making steam, would probably corrode 
the boiler. 

Although many of these waters are not satisfactory for domestic 
supplies or for use in boilers, most of them can be used for irrigation 
without danger to crops from deposition of alkali. Three of the 
waters (Nos. 34, 49, and 55) are classed as poor for irrigation, but 
the first two are sodium-chloride waters that would probably leave in 
the soil the less injurious " white alkali," and the third is a sodium- 
carbonate water which might leave "bJack alkali" upon evapora- 
tion. This water (No. 55) might be used to grow some of the crops 
more resistant to alkali if carefully applied to land that had been 
treated with gypsum and was adequately drained. 

WATER FROM SPRINGS. 

Analyses of samples of water from six springs in this area appar- 
ently indicate that the spring waters are not so highly mineralized 
as the water from dug wells, the average content of total solids in 
water from springs being 580 parts per million, whereas the average 
for water from dug wells is 638 parts per million. The average con- 
tent of silica and bicarbonate is higher in the spring waters than in 
the water from the dug wells, but that of the other constituents is 
lower. The water of only one spring (No. 90) is reported to contain 
nitrate, and that water only 6.0 parts per million, an amount that is 
small when compared with such an amount as 80 parts per million 
in the water of the shallow dug wells (p. 114). 

The waters of three of the springs (Nos. 24, 60, and 90) are calcium- 
carbonate, and three (Nos. 41, 47, and 48) are sodium-carbonate 
in character. The water of well 24 has been classed as bad for 
domestic use because of its hardness (455 parts per million), but the 
other five (Nos. 41, 47, 48, 60, and 90) are fair or good for drinking 
and cooking. In general they are not well suited for use in boilers, 
though the water from springs 60 and 90 would form in boilers only 
a moderate amount of soft scale. 

Two of the spring waters (Nos. 41 and 48) contain such quantities 
of alkalies as to be unsatisfactory for use for irrigation unless on 
lands that are exceptionally well drained. The water from spring 41 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 117 

is not now used for irrigating crops, but that from spring 48, although 
used for irrigation, is likely to cause trouble if precautions are not 
taken to prevent accumulation of alkali in the soil. Water from the 
other four springs (Nos. 24, 47, 60, and 90) is better adapted for use 
in irrigating. 

WATER FROM DRILLED WELLS. 

Samples of water from ten drilled wells in the area covered by this 
report were analyzed. Eight of the wells exceed 100 feet in depth; 
two (Nos. 39 and 54) are 25 and 15 feet deep, respectively. Although 
No. 54 is a drilled well the water from it is evidently derived from 
surface run-off or from material lying little below the surface, for it 
is totally unlike that from other drilled wells, contains much mineral 
matter, largely alkalies and bicarbonate, is only fair for domestic 
use, and could not be used satisfactorily in boilers or for irrigation 
without special precautions. The analysis has therefore not been 
included with the others in the table on page 114. 

In almost all the analyses of the water from drilled wells the 
averages of constituents (table, p. 114) are lower than those shown 
by analyses of the water from dug wells. This statement is especially 
true of the alkali (Na + K) and the acid radicles (C0 3 , HC0 3 , S0 4 , 
CI, and N0 3 ). In only one of the samples, that from the shallow 
well (No. 54) discussed above, was nitrate reported present. This 
apparent absence of the oxidation products of decayed organic 
matter gives considerable assurance that the waters from these 
drilled wells are free from contamination by sewage and are therefore 
safe for human consumption. 

Six of the drilled wells (Nos. 17, 30, 39, 76, 78, and 80) yield calcium- 
carbonate waters, two (Nos. 4 and 22) sodium-carbonate waters, 
and the remaining well (No. 26) a sodium-sulphate water. 

Only one of the nine waters averaged (that from well 80) is classed 
as bad for domestic use; the rest are either good or fair. Well 39, 
on the Indian ranch, is an exception to the rule that shallow wells 
are distinctly inferior to deeper ones, so far as quality of water is 
concerned. This well is only 25 feet deep, yet its water is but 
moderately mineralized, is fair for domestic use, and is good for 
irrigation; it might be satisfactorily used in boilers if no better 
supply were available, but if so used should be softened by treatment 
with lime. 

The average content of total solids in the nine wells — 370 parts 
per million — is decidedly lower than that for springs, which is 580 
parts, and approximately 50 per cent of the average for dug wells, 
which is 638 parts per million. 



118 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 
SUMMARY OF QUALITY OF WATER. 

1. Dug wells furnish water that is generally satisfactory, so far 
as mineral content is concerned, for domestic use, good or. fair for 
irrigation, and poor for use in boilers. If the water is to be used for 
domestic supply; such wells must be carefully located and protected 
from pollution. 

2. The water from springs is usually satisfactory for domestic 
use, poor for boilers, and better than that from dug wells for irrigation. 

3. The deeper drilled wells, if properly cased to exclude water 
from near the surface, will yield water that is more satisfactory for 
general uses than either dug wells or springs. 

WATER SUPPLIES. 

DOMESTIC SUPPLIES. 

Most of the residents in and near Battle Mountain are supplied 
from flowing wells 2 or 3 inches in diameter, but a few are supplied 
by shallow wells that tap only the superficial ground water. In the 
Reese River basin water on the ranches is obtained chiefly from 
shallow dug wells, but springs supply a few ranches, including the 
Wilson ranch (No. 24, PI. VIII), the Hotspring ranch (No. 48), and 
the Warner ranch (No. 90). A few others, as the Fish Creek and 
Boone Creek ranches, are supplied by perennial streams. 

PUBLIC SUPPLY. 

The only public supply in the area is that of Austin. Water for 
this town is furnished by a spring on the higher slopes to the south- 
east and is piped down to a tank and a reservoir on a knoll in the 
town. Thence it is distributed through several lines of pipe. The 
yield of the spring was not learned, but it is said to be ample through- 
out the year for the needs of the town. 

STOCK SUPPLIES. 

In the mountains there are a few small springs that supply the 
range cattle in the later part of the summer, when most of the 
canyons become dry. In the lowlands Reese River furnishes the 
principal stock supply where its flow is perennial, and in the upper 
part of the valley flowing wells are obtained. In the lower part of 
the Reese River valley there is in summer a serious lack of watering 
places, however, and although there has been some attempt to over- 
come this lack by means of flowing wells, efforts to obtain flows have 
in most localities not proved successful. It seems probable that in 
the lower part of the Reese River valley pumped supplies must be 
relied upon, perhaps by the use of windmills. The water from flowing 
wells is exceptionally good stock water for winter use because it is 
comparatively warm and hence does not chill the animals. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 119 
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES. 

Industrial supplies in the area were in 1916 limited to those used 
by the railroad companies. At Battle Mountain the Southern Pacific 
Co. has a 480-foot well and a pumping station which supplies the 
needs of locomotives and of cattle that are being shipped. The 
Western Pacific Railroad has a shallow dug well of large diameter 
at Kampos, which supplies the locomotives, and another shallow 
well of large diameter at Dunphy, where the watering of cattle being 
shipped on this line is in part done. 

IRRIGATION FROM WELLS. 

DEVELOPMENTS. 

In 1916 irrigation from wells had been attempted in only two places 
in the area examined — on the desert claim of Ramon Oyarbide, 8 
miles south of Battle Mountain, and on the desert claim of W. S. 
Carter, 8 miles southwest of Austin. Mr. Oyarbide had two small 
pumping plants, consisting of distillate engines and centrifugal 
pumps, lifting from the ground-water level, about 15 feet below the 
surface. Mr. Carter was depending on a flowing well for the irrigation 
of a portion of his claim. Both developments had been made only a 
short time, and no crop had been planted on either claim. 

Although there are a number of flowing wells in the Reese River 
and Humboldt River basins, the examination indicates that the 
artesian head is small and that flows sufficient for irrigation prob- 
ably can not be obtained. Irrigation with ground water must be 
accomplished chiefly by pumping. 

WELL CONSTRUCTION. 

Water can be easily obtained by digging wells in the lower parts 
of the Reese River and Humboldt River valleys, but such wells 
can not be cheaply sunk to depths very far below the water table, 
because of the necessity of curbing. Dug wells sunk only a short 
distance below the level at which water is struck can not furnish 
large supplies. Wells sunk to obtain artesian flows for domestic 
use or for stock or to obtain supplies for irrigation by pumping prob- 
ably will have to be put down more than 100 feet. 

Ordinary cable drilling rigs have been used with good results in 
sinking wells in this region. Hydraulic outfits, in which water is 
pumped down through hollow drill rods and comes up on the out- 
side, bringing the drillings with it, are well suited for cheap, efficient, 
and rapid work in the deep, fine-grained, unconsolidated deposits 
of the Reese River and Humboldt River basins. In drilling by this 
method the ascending muddy water plasters the walls of the well 
and produces an effective coating. Even in a deep well in soft 



120 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

materials it is generally not necessary to insert casing until drilling 
has been completed; and in some localities where the materials are 
clayey, casing of the lower part of the well is unnecessary. Hydraulic 
machines are much used for sinking wells 2 to 4 inches in diameter, 
and these could be put down cheaply in order to test the water 
supply prior to undertaking irrigation development. The machines 
are, however, too light for the efficient sinking of wells 6 inches or 
more in diameter, and wells of relatively large diameter are desir- 
able for pumping supplies. The ordinary cable tools are probably 
best adapted to drilling wells for irrigation in this area. 

For pump wells 6 inches in diameter or larger " stovepipe" casing 
of heavy sheet iron forms a very serviceable and relatively cheap 
casing. It is made of 2-foot sections, of two sizes, one of which 
slips snugly over the other, with the ends breaking joints. The 
casing is built up and forced down the well as drilling progresses. 
As casing of this kind leaks at the joints it is not suitable for use 
in flowing wells, in which the more expensive but water-tight screw 
casing must be used. In pump wells the casing should be perfor- 
ated at every satisfactory water-bearing bed, either before or after 
the insertion of the casing in the well. Where flowing water is 
encountered in valley fill there are usually satisfactory artesian beds 
at two or more horizons, and in order to get the maximum yield all 
of them should be penetrated by the drill, and the casing should be 
perforated throughout the thickness of each artesian bed. 

Quicksand does not seem to have been encountered in quantities 
so large as to seriously hinder drilling in wells that have been sunk 
in the area examined. The fine materials seem to consist of clay or 
sandy clay and to be easily handled by experienced drillers. 

RECOVERY OF WATER. 

The depth to which it is advisable to drill wells to be pumped 
for irrigation differs greatly from place to place, depending on the 
character of the valley fill. The available data indicate that along 
the borders of the Reese and Humboldt river valleys it probably 
will not be of advantage to sink more than 200 or 300 feet. In the 
lower lands, near the troughs of the valleys, sufficient water for small 
pumping plants can probably be obtained from wells less than 200 
feet deep, if they are properly cased and perforated. In places where 
coarse water-bearing material is obtained at shallow depths two or 
more relatively shallow drilled wells may yield a larger total supply 
than one deep well. For economy in pumping, wells that are near 
each other are usually connected to the same pump. 

Care should be taken to insure as large a recovery as possible from 
each well by perforating the casing at every suitable water-bearing 
bed with as many and as large perforations as is practicable, and 



GROUND WATER IN RKKSK AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 121 

in finishing the well to clean it thoroughly by strong pumping in 
order to remove the fine sediments and thus produce a strainer of 
gravel and coarse sand around the casing. Large yields keep down 
the cost of well construction per unit of water developed and, by 
lessening the drawdown, keep down the cost of lifting water. 

Horizontal centrifugal pumps arc generally used in areas where 
the pumping lift is not great, and as the ground-water level is at 
shallow depths throughout most of the lowlands of the Reese River 
and Humboldt River valleys such pumps will doubtless prove best 
adapted to raise water for irrigation in this region. The pump should 
be set in a pit just above the water level, so as to work under as low 
a suction lift as possible, and the size of the pump should be care- 
fully chosen with respect to the capacity of the well. Care should also 
be taken that the discharge from the pump is no higher than is neces- 
sary, for the power required for pumping depends on the height to 
which the water is lifted, and the cost of power is one of the largest 
costs in irrigation by pumping. 

For the Reese River basin, where electric power is not available for 
pumping, distillate or oil engines are probably the most suitable power 
units. The cost of pumping depends largely on the efficiency of the 
pumping plant, and after the size of pump best adapted to the ca- 
pacity of the well and the pumping lift has been determined the 
engine should be properly chosen with respect to it. An engine that 
is larger than is necessary to run the pump or one that is too small 
to run the pump at proper speed will make the cost of pumping 
needlessly high. Most of the manufacturers of pumping machinery 
have in their service experts who will assist farmers in planning 
installations suitable to the local conditions of ground water and the 
irrigation development that is to be undertaken. 

AREAS. 

The lands that seem to be best adapted to irrigation by wells in 
the upper part of the Reese River valley are along the east side 
between Big Creek and Austin. Farther up and down the valley 
and also along the west side the soil is composed to a large extent of 
clay, probably derived from the Truckee formation, and is of poorer 
quality than the alluvial material along the bases of the fans of Big 
Creek and adjacent canyons. Much of the meadow land along the 
river between the Walsh Hess ranch and Ledlie could probably be 
made more productive than it is at present by following irrigation 
with flood water by irrigation with pumped water. The land in 
the lower part of the Reese River valley, along the east side, below 
the Hotspring ranch, although covered largely with an unpromising 
growth of arid-land shrubs, can be made productive by irrigation, 
as is shown by a large alfalfa field, irrigated by stream water at the 



122 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1911. 

Jenkins home ranch. The lands near the river channel are so barren 
as to make it unwise to attempt irrigation unless careful tests show 
that both the soil and the ground water available for irrigation 
are so free from alkali that it will not cause trouble. Antelope 
Valley is rather barren, but there may be a supply of ground water 
of sufficient purity for use in irrigation within easy pumping reach. 
The lower part of Buffalo Valley is an alkali-incrusted flat, but the 
gentle slopes that border it on the west and north are probably under- 
lain by water of fair quality within 50 feet of the surface; and pump- 
ing irrigation might be developed to a considerable extent on these 
lands. Along the valley of Humboldt River shallow water is avail- 
able for pumping, and in some places this water can doubtless be 
advantageously developed for irrigation as auxiliary to the surface- 
water supply. 

CROPS AND MARKETS. 

The short growing season, with cold spring and autumn, limits 
the variety of crops that can be grown in the region, and the lack of 
transportation facilities in parts of the area examined also places 
restrictions on the kinds of crops that can be profitably grown. 
Austin and Battle Mountain furnish only small markets for such 
hardy vegetables as can be grown. The chief agricultural interest 
is directly related to stock raising, principally of cattle, and alfalfa 
promises to be the most profitable irrigated crop, to be grown for 
local use as winter feed. 



GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NRV. 123 
WELLS AND SPRINGS. 

The following list is believed to include all tho important springs 
and nearly all the wells, except some of those in Battle Mountain, 
that had been sunk at the time the region was examined. Tho 
figures giving the depth to the water table at each well probably 
show with fair accuracy the depth to water in the vicinity of the 
well. It should be noted that the figures indicate the depths to the 
water table, which is not the same as the depth to water in the wells 
because the water in some of the deeper wells is under considerable 
artesian head. The chemical composition and classification of such 
of these waters as were analyzed are shown on the pages facing those 
giving the general information concerning the same waters. 



124 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 



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GROUND WATER IN REESE AND HUMBOLDT RIVER BASINS, NEV. 127 



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